Whatnot Wednesday #ThursdayDoors — Images, Inspiration, Process

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Door to Author Mind 2022, Image collage by Teagan
Image collage by Teagan

Welcome, everyone, for topics of writing, creativity, and processes, and… whatnot.  Creatives draw inspiration from all sorts of things.  Sometimes we actively try to summon up that stimulation.  Other times it just blasts into the mind.  Today I’m elaborating on my process for creating image collages.

In a couple of weeks, Dan Antion will host the 4th Annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge (TDWC).  (Click the blue link for more information about participating in the challenge by providing doors as inspiration.)

I look forward to it each year.  Why — when I have so many works in progress?  Sometimes, my writing process gets a kick in the pants if I stop and write something different.  Maybe the “muse” gets jealous, who knows.  Anyhow that often works for me.

I was honored to make a badge for the challenge this year.  My idea was to have a door flowing out of an author’s pen. First, I had to “liquify” a door. I also needed to portray the words. Imagine my delight when my intense digging unearthed a public domain photo of a handwritten, noted manuscript by Agatha Christie!  If you look closely, you can see the title, “The Pale Horse.”  To contain all the parts, and because it’s a badge, I added a substantial frame around the collage. Even with all that going for the image, it still took weeks before I could “see” how to put the idea onto a flat page.

The first part of Dan’s challenge involves people submitting images that will serve as inspiration for writing stories. (The writing part begins May 1st.)  I made three image collages for the challenge.  By way of “boosting” the event, I’m sharing my contributions today. 

Also, I wanted the opportunity to talk about my collages. My first idea sprang fully formed into my head. That was the only thing that was easy about it.  In fact, it was the most difficult of the three.  What might be going on in this Venetian palace, with the strangely replicated doors?  What about the two women in carnival costume — are they in trouble, or the cause of trouble?

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A woman walking toward an old country house… that should inspire a story, right?  I wasn’t satisfied with the public domain image. I had to add a complication.  Adding a few pieces to the image, I made a path that divides to allow a gypsy wagon to be parked near the house in the foreground.

Old country house & gypsy wagon: Choices, image collage by Teagan

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My third offering was both the easiest and the most difficult.  I put a good deal of work into the gecko (and then it became two of the lizards as my idea grew).  However, the hard part was coming up with the idea at all.  I looked closer to my high-desert home for inspiration. That led to the adobe house and the cacti. Although I wasn’t satisfied until the gecko popped into my mind.

An adobe in the desert, image collage by Teagan

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We could only submit our top three images for the challenge. So please note that the two collages below will not be offered as inspiration images in the TDWC event. I had two more that I considered.  My mind was divided between the past and the future.

Are these ghosts dancing outside this posh Las Vegas club? Or are we back in the days of elegantly twirling across the dancefloor?

Image collage by Teagan 2024

The next idea took me to the future… or maybe back to the future.  I wanted to do something featuring a car with its door open.  Google was not cooperating, but I did find a nice DeLorean.  What better backdrop than outer space?

DeLorean in Space Image collage by Teagan

I suppose that if someone wanted to do their Thursday Doors Writing Challenge short story with either of my alternate images as inspiration, then Dan probably wouldn’t mind — as long as you link to this post so that he can find the image for his recap.  But remember — door images are being accepted by Dan now.  The writing challenge begins May 1, 2024.

Thanks to all of you for opening this door. I hope many of you will participate in the Thursday Doors Writing Challenge. You don’t need to be a “fulltime writer” or a “professional” — just have fun writing.  It will be here before you know it.  Friendly comments are encouraged. Hugs!

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Naturally, the obligatory shameless self-promotion must be included.

Speak Chuckaboo:
Slang of the Victorian and Steam Eras

Speak Chuckaboo, Slang of the Victorian and Steam Eras, by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Universal Purchase Links

Kindle:  relinks.me/B0B9W38LDJ

Paperback:  relinks.me/B0B9T8MP1K

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Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. It’s hosted by Dan Antion.  Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).

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No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author, or used with permission, or from free sources.

Copyright © 2024 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved.

67 thoughts on “Whatnot Wednesday #ThursdayDoors — Images, Inspiration, Process”

  2. I was minding my own business .. enjoying the read, and your picture you jigged of fred and ginger woke my imagination into action. don’t know whether to thank you or not… I’m so busy as it is.. but I think.. THANK YOU.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. I’m sorry to hear that Robbie. I’ll look for answers at your blogs soon. My Internet has been down for several days — burned out hardware and then a slue of related problems. So I’m relating to the “dreadful” part. I hope all is well with you and yours. Big hugs.

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  7. All fabulous images. I especially like the one with the geckos. I love those little guys and my dogs try to catch them. But are never successful. The badge you created is amazing! I’m looking forward to the writing part of the challenge.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. I appreciate that feedback Darlene. The dogs must be so funny, chasing them. I get little gray lizards, some with an odd shaped head that looks a LOT like a pebble. They are interesting little guys. Many thanks about the badge — and thanks for opening this door. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  10. So, this is exciting!

    I am going to go over and check out the requirements.

    If one submits a door, must they also participate in the writing part?

    Your doors are terrific, Teagan.

    Your CGI art is always special.

    Hugs!!!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. Ohh, pardon! Collages not CGI.
        Excuse my ignorance… a bit more educated now!
        I actually know they are composites, but somewhere in my mind I’m thinking CGI is involved in putting them together.
        Duh! I do some collages in my Pages program, so I don’t know why I assume artists need CGI tools.
        Anyway, your images are FAB!!!
        OH, and CONGRATS on the badge!
        Hugs!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. Thank you kindly, Liz. It varies. For example I spent very little time on the DeLorean (compared to the others). I’ve never timed myself. It depends on how many parts *I make* for the image, and how much erasing I do.

      The Venetian palace was the most complex, even though I only used two main photos. (The parrot was an after thought/3rd image.) I copied a section of the palace, & reversed it to broaden my “canvas” and create the twin hallways and portraits, and blended the seam. (For the one with the gypsy wagon, I copied a few different sections of the main image, fiddled with them, and added those to the collage, before adding the wagon.)

      The two Carnival women in were the hard part. Erasing the background *to my satisfaction* was hard because of the curve of the skirts, and the many details of the costumes.

      Of course there’s also enhancing the lighting, contrast, colors, and saturation, and applying shadows to each individual image part. (If it were a book cover, I would also be doing those things to the author/title text.)

      When I’m only making an image to please myself, I find all that every therapeutic. But that’s not the case with commission work, which is why I rarely make covers for other people these days — my C-PTSD problem can’t cope with it.

      Thanks for opening this door. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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          1. I’m not crazy about Photoshop either. It’s way too complicated and time-consuming to use. I use it for the most rudimentary functions I can do quickly. I keep forgetting that PowerPoint can be a powerful image editor. Thanks for the reminder!

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  13. Teagan, my fave is the gecko’s “door.” Those cacti are impressive, stoic guardians of the entrance. Those “ghosts” at the club…I wonder how they wound up there and what their backstory might be. Are they haunting it or “owning it!”🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Bruce. Ha. I’m starting to think I should have included the nightclub image. I guess, mostly I like colors. Sepia or black and white was the only way I could make that one feel right. Plus, I realize now that I chose the ones where I put the greatest effort. There really could be so many stories for that nightclub. Dan said he doesn’t mind if people use it for the challenge, so that helps. Many thanks for your feedback and the visit. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  14. I love all your images, Teagan 🙂 The one with the cottage and the woman walking to it screams for a story. Great badge too! Sending hugs xo

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. You are so kind, Noelle — thank you. I gave myself a head start on the challenge when a participant showed one of his doors. So I have a short story and a couple of collages for it, waiting for May to post. I was really happy with one image I made for it. I appreciate you reading and commenting. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  20. I like the badge you’ve created. I completely understand how challenging it is to choose between multiple creative ideas. For me, it is about how I create content that best suits my client’s requirements, a Canva birthday card, or a thumbnail for my post. For Sarah, it is about what to cook for tomorrow.

    Liked by 3 people

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  21. I love the badge and all the images, Teagan, the chosen ones as inspiration for Dan’s challenge and the ones that didn’t make it. I have agreed to be part of the jury of a children’s writing competition here, and I should start getting the stories tomorrow, so I don’t think I’ll have the time to participate (with other things also going on), but I’ll enjoy catching up with it. Congratulations for the badge and the images, and I look forward to hearing more about it!

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Ah. I should have known that would be your favorite. You could still write a story about it (shared or not) as a practice run.
      I suddenly realize that (I had also looked a plane doors when I was looking for a car with an open door) I could have used the “blue lightning” plane you told me about when I was actively working on my Wheel of Fortune book. Thanks for opening this door, GP. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  23. Teagan, I totally understand how something can be both, “the easiest and the most difficult,” especially when our creative spirit is involved. That happens to me in woodworking, a lot.

    I love the doors you submitted. I’m going officially hod you to three, but you know me and rules. If someone wants to use one of those other doors, I’m not rejecting their contribution.

    I don’t have your creative mind, but I do understand the process of manipulating images, and I know it’s not easy. Between the badge and the doors, you’ve put a lot of effort into supporting this challenge. I really appreciate that. The badge is awesome. I can’t thank you enough for creating that.

    I hope you have a good week. A few last minute doors have arrived. I will unveil the complete collection on Sunday.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Dan, it’s my pleasure to share something I enjoy as much as the TDWC event — both parts of it.
      Thanks about the doors. LOL, I just realized that the difficulty with the adobe house door started when I thought I should do something “normal.” Haha… you know “normal” is not part of my thought process! o_O Thanks so much for your encouraging comment. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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  24. I enjoyed reading about your process behind the collages. And such variety! So your writing isn’t the only thing that benefits from your wide variety of interests. I especially liked how you described research leading to finding the public domain image of Agatha Christie’s manuscript. What a find! It can take a while to unearth those gems, and that makes the research worthwhile 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I appreciate your feedback, Dave. I didn’t want to show any sort of typed text. I also didn’t want to photograph my own handwriting (not sure why). While I was looking for free images, I ran across a page by Lewis Caroll. I don’t remember what my issue was with that image, but it wasn’t going to be easy to use. When I kept looking and spotted that one of Agatha Christie, I was really excited about it. Thanks for your support. Hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

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